March 22, 1969: 55 years ago, March 21 1969, after over a year of protest and stalled [...]
55 years ago, March 21 1969, after over a year of protest and stalled negotiations the Mills College Black Student Union held a rally in front of Mills Hall, marched inside and occupied the college president’s office to demand the creation of an ethnic studies department at Mills
Over 300 attended the rally where Black Panther Party member Kathleen Cleaver was one of many speakers. She chastised the racism and chauvinism of the administration, calling Mills a “cathedral of white racism” in East Oakland. Over a hundred students then marched inside
The occupation was planned after a year of protests and stalled negations with administrators, who refused to concede on the BSU’s demands, which included an ethic studies department and the hiring of Black faculty and staff. Kathleen Cleaver joined the students in negotiations
After hours of debating between the BSU students and college president Robert Wert, the faculty were called to vote on the demands and voted 41-13 in favor. The demands were met and Mills College became one of the earliest schools to establish a department of ethnic studies
